Fake In China: Jeep Beer. We Kid You Not
I assume the Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton law firm that handles Chrysler’s trademark litigation is already on its way to China. If not, they will be calling the travel agent after reading this.
What do you think would happen if Chrysler would license its Jeep brand to a beer? It appears as if Chrysler did just that in China.
The beer is marketed by the “Hubei Jeep Brewery Corporation.” Distributors who sell more than 60,000 liters are eligible to win a free green Jeep. Call +86-716-4735359 for details.
Not enough that Jeep’s brand is being blurred and diluted by beer, the Hubei brewery manages to upset yet another famous brand. Avowed Dutchman Tycho de Feyter, who blogs about Chinese cars and Chinese copies at Carnewschina, is aghast to note that “stealing Jeep-things for beer is really bad, but what really pisses me off is that they also copied the famous tilted ‘e’, the red star, and the label’s overall design from the great beermaker Heineken from the Netherlands, my Home Country! That ‘e’ alone has been copyrighted a zillion times!” Not copyrighted, but the tipsy e in Heineken definitely is trademarked. Heineken has a presence in China, and probably a better case than Jeep.
The Hubei beer company has more interesting beers. Its AOBULL beer, picturing a red bull, could attract the attention of the energy drink – if that drink would not already be fighting an epic trademark battle against a Chinese company that sells fake Red Bull. The “German Soldier” beer should not cause trouble. Tycho remarks snidely that it should “mix fine with a Jeep.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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A few years ago, I bought a 'Jeep" brand boombox, bright yellow, with a psuedo-waterproof lid.
I wonder what E C Segar would have made of it?